Average Weather in Basalt Colorado, United States

In Basalt, the summers are warm, dry, and mostly clear and the winters are freezing, snowy, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 11°F to 81°F and is rarely below -3°F or above 87°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Basalt for warm-weather activities is from late June to late August.

Temperature

The warm season lasts for 3.4 months, from June 1 to September 15, with an average daily high temperature above 71°F. The hottest day of the year is July 8, with an average high of 81°F and low of 49°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.2 months, from November 21 to February 27, with an average daily high temperature below 42°F. The coldest day of the year is January 6, with an average low of 11°F and high of 33°F.

The daily average high (red line) and low (blue line) temperature, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding average perceived temperatures.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the entire year of hourly average temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day of the year, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

Clouds

In Basalt, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Basalt begins around May 30 and lasts for 5.1 months, ending around November 3. On September 13, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy77% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy23% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 3 and lasts for 6.8 months, ending around May 30. On February 12, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy48% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy52% of the time.

The percentage of time spent in each cloud cover band, categorized by the percentage of the sky covered by clouds.

Precipitation

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Basalt varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 10 months, from July 9 to May 20, with a greater than 20% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 26% on July 31.

The drier season lasts 1.7 months, from May 20 to July 9. The smallest chance of a wet day is 13% on June 15.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation in Basalt changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 7.6 months, from March 27 to November 13. The highest chance of a day with rain alone is 26% on July 31.

Mixed snow and rain is the most common for 2.3 months, from February 1 to March 27 and from November 13 to November 28. The highest chance of a day with mixed snow and rain is 10% on March 15.

Snow alone is the most common for 2.1 months, from November 28 to February 1. The highest chance of a day with snow alone is 11% on December 28.

The percentage of days in which various types of precipitation are observed, excluding trace quantities: rain alone, snow alone, and mixed (both rain and snow fell in the same day).

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Basalt experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 9.4 months, from February 16 to November 29, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around September 23, with an average total accumulation of 1.3 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 2.6 months, from November 29 to February 16. The least rain falls around January 16, with an average total accumulation of 0.3 inches.

The average rainfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average liquid-equivalent snowfall.

Snowfall

We report snowfall in liquid-equivalent terms. The actual depth of new snowfall is typically between 5 and 10 times the liquid-equivalent amount, assuming the ground is frozen. Colder, drier snow tends to be on the higher end of that range and warmer, wetter snow on the lower end.

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Basalt experiences some seasonal variation in monthly liquid-equivalent snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 6.8 months, from October 10 to May 4, with a sliding 31-day liquid-equivalent snowfall of at least 0.1 inches. The most snow falls during the 31 days centered around December 24, with an average total liquid-equivalent accumulation of 0.7 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 5.2 months, from May 4 to October 10. The least snow falls around July 31, with an average total liquid-equivalent accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The average liquid-equivalent snowfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average rainfall.

Sun

The length of the day in Basalt varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2019, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 23 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 57 minutes of daylight.

The number of hours during which the Sun is visible (black line). From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray), the color bands indicate: full daylight, twilight (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and full night.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:40 AM on June 14, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 56 minutes later at 7:37 AM on November 2. The earliest sunset is at 4:44 PM on December 8, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 55 minutes later at 8:39 PM on June 27.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Basalt during 2019, starting in the spring on March 10, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 3.

The solar day over the course of the year 2019. From bottom to top, the black lines are the previous solar midnight, sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the next solar midnight. The day, twilights (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and night are indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray. The transitions to and from daylight saving time are indicated by the 'DST' labels.

Humidity

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level in Basalt, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

Humidity Comfort Levels

The percentage of time spent at various humidity comfort levels, categorized by dew point.

Wind

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Basalt experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.0 months, from January 23 to June 24, with average wind speeds of more than 5.0 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is April 5, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.9 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.0 months, from June 24 to January 23. The calmest day of the year is August 3, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.1 miles per hour.

The average of mean hourly wind speeds (dark gray line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Basalt varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the west for 8.4 months, from February 21 to November 3, with a peak percentage of 50% on April 23. The wind is most often from the south for 3.6 months, from November 3 to February 21, with a peak percentage of 49% on January 1.

Wind Direction

The percentage of hours in which the mean wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions, excluding hours in which the mean wind speed is less than 1.0 mph. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries are the percentage of hours spent in the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

Best Time of Year to Visit

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Basalt throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Basalt for general outdoor tourist activities is from late June to late August, with a peak score in the second week of July.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Basalt for hot-weather activities is from late June to early August, with a peak score in the second week of July.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Growing Season

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Basalt typically lasts for 3.8 months (116 days), from around May 31 to around September 24, rarely starting before May 9 or after June 21, and rarely ending before September 6 or after October 12.

The percentage of time spent in various temperature bands. The black line is the percentage chance that a given day is within the growing season.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Basalt should appear around May 5, only rarely appearing before April 22 or after May 18.

Growing Degree Days

The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of the year, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

Solar Energy

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.5 months, from May 12 to July 28, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.2 kWh. The brightest day of the year is June 17, with an average of 8.4 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.3 months, from November 2 to February 11, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.7 kWh. The darkest day of the year is December 22, with an average of 2.5 kWh.

The average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground per square meter (orange line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

Topography

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Basalt are 39.369 deg latitude, -107.033 deg longitude, and 7,379 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Basalt contains large variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 2,520 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 7,237 feet. Within 10 miles contains large variations in elevation (5,951 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (9,252 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Basalt is covered by trees (50%), shrubs (39%), and cropland (12%), within 10 miles by trees (62%) and shrubs (29%), and within 50 miles by trees (62%) and shrubs (22%).

Data Sources

This report illustrates the typical weather in Basalt, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There are 3 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Basalt.

The estimated value at Basalt is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Basalt and a given station.

Other Data

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Disclaimer

The information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site.

We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands.

We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader.